Turned

Hello, my relatives. I bring you greetings from the elders of my people, the Self-satisfied Band of Radical Intellectuals. My colonial name is John G. Martin, but my indigenous name is Drunkablog.

Back from the Forum! National! Emergency! And have I got the "dish"!

First, the fine folks of Students and Faculty for "True" Academic Freedom did indeed prohibit recording except by "credentialed media" (of which there might have been one or two).

This time, however, they actually mentioned the prohibition in their flyer, which, of course, they've failed to do a couple of times in the past. Unfortunately, the flyer was put together only last night (or maybe even this morning--it's still not up on the internets that I can find. This one came off a door in the building):


The veeerrrrrrrry last line of the teeny-tiny text at the bottom reads (in italics): "*Recording Policy: Recording and photography by credentialed media and event staff. Audio and video recordings of the event will be available at a later date."

Not having read this (it was dim in the auditorium and I'd been filming and taking pictures freely until the announcement) I went over and remonstrated with Bonetti. We went out in the hall and he pointed out the itty-bitty type and, with another organizer there, Daniel Kim, repeated that they wanted me not to record. Fine. I quit arguing about it, even though (as I believe) they're still in violation of CU regulations.

But I asked Kim why they put the tiny-type on THIS flyer in (they think) observance of CU rules, but not on the flyers for the colloquium or the teach-in? Wasn't that an acknowledgement of wrongdoing? He sputtered and said, "I don't have to answer your questions!"

He had me there. I went back to my seat.

Videographer Peter Fotopoulos, whom I'd arranged to meet at the forum (he actually volunteered to be there), wisely took off when he learned the score. It was an incredibly beautiful day in Colorado.

And I'm an idiot. N!E!F!

N!E!F!

Many people will want first to ask, Hey, you skinny, balding, muscle-shirt wearing piece of trailer trash, how many people attended this jamboree, anyhoo?

Glad you asked! Well sir, there were never more than 45 souls, including speakers and "security." This, remember, was the crowning event of Churchillpalooza, and the organizers clearly expected many more, because they'd reserved Muenzinger Auditorium, which holds about 300. If further evidence were needed, several speakers mentioned how disappointed they were (very) at the turnout for both the N!E!F! and the walkout yesterday.

This is what it looked like in the auditorium at close to 10:30, a half hour after the announced start time:


Sorry, I was using a borrowed camera.

A view the other way:


How embarrassing.

And, delightful to relate, one of the attendees (after eating the sweet rolls and drinking the milk and coffee provided by the N!E!F!) slept through the whole morning session. He was right behind me, but didn't snore at all. (He was a "non-disruptive" sleeper.)

End part 1 of "Turned."

Update: Yes, part 1. If you have more constructive things to do (and who doesn't?), I urge you to go do them. Don't worry about me. Save yourself.

Update: Forgot to say, I also asked Bonetti why Churchill's supporters needed so much control over the information they allegedly wanted to get out there. He disagreed with the word "control," and told me how the corporate media were twisting and/or suppressing the real story and etc. Bill Moyers country. Academics like Bonetti can't understand why nobody but other academics agrees with them, so they believe that a) people are dumb; and 2) the media trains all the oafs to be clueless pig American consumers who don't care if their government pollutes and kills the whole world as long as they can keep their microwave ovens. (They always use microwave ovens as the height of bourgeois wastefulness and uselessness. Straight out of the 70s.)

Update: Sorry, Ken Bonetti. (I was saying his last name was Bonelli, not Bonetti. Fixed now.)